70% of new office buildings in Oslo have achieved green certification

A record number of new office buildings in Oslo, Norway, have been certified by the Norwegian Green Building Council (a member of WorldGBC) under the BREEAM-NOR standard.

In just four years since the first office building was certified in 2013, 70 per cent of Oslo’s new office buildings have been BREEAM-NOR-certified.

When accounting for future projects in planning or those currently under construction, the figure is closer to 100 per cent, according to the Norwegian Green Building Council.

Kjersti Folvik, CEO of NGBC, said: “In Oslo, environmental certification is now essential to be attractive in the market.”

She added that the demand for high quality commercial buildings has increased significantly in recent years partly because of certification schemes, but also because businesses are increasingly recognising not just the environmental benefits of green buildings, but also the social and economic benefits.

"The stakeholders of commercial buildings are well under way in playing their part in climate responsibility and are already far ahead of public decrees," added Folvik.

In Oslo and Akershus, Norway’s second-largest county by population (after Oslo), there are now approximately 500,000 square meters of certified office buildings. The Norwegian cities of Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim have also made significant advances in green building certification, according to NGBC.

Picture: At Oslo's HasleLinje, developed by Höegh Eiendom and AF Eiendom, all new buildings must at least satisfy the BREEAM "Very Good" rating. Frontbygget (front) and Portalbygget (at the back) are both certified BREEAM-NOR "Excellent", the second highest BREEAM rating. Photographer: Dmitry Tkachenko.

A record number of new office buildings in Oslo, Norway, have been certified by the Norwegian Green Building Council (a member of WorldGBC) under the BREEAM-NOR standard.

In just four years since the first office building was certified in 2013, 70 per cent of Oslo’s new office buildings have been BREEAM-NOR-certified.

When accounting for future projects in planning or those currently under construction, the figure is closer to 100 per cent, according to the Norwegian Green Building Council.

Kjersti Folvik, CEO of NGBC, said: “In Oslo, environmental certification is now essential to be attractive in the market.”

She added that the demand for high quality commercial buildings has increased significantly in recent years partly because of certification schemes, but also because businesses are increasingly recognising not just the environmental benefits of green buildings, but also the social and economic benefits.

"The stakeholders of commercial buildings are well under way in playing their part in climate responsibility and are already far ahead of public decrees," added Folvik.

In Oslo and Akershus, Norway’s second-largest county by population (after Oslo), there are now approximately 500,000 square meters of certified office buildings. The Norwegian cities of Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim have also made significant advances in green building certification, according to NGBC.

Picture: At Oslo's HasleLinje, developed by Höegh Eiendom and AF Eiendom, all new buildings must at least satisfy the BREEAM "Very Good" rating. Frontbygget (front) and Portalbygget (at the back) are both certified BREEAM-NOR "Excellent", the second highest BREEAM rating. Photographer: Dmitry Tkachenko.